A fourth community dialogue has been scheduled to discuss local violence. The first discussion was held on Oct. 28, which followed the Community Violence Task Force status update at a City Council meeting. Additional meetings were held on Nov. 18 and Dec. 11. The task force has worked with many people, agencies and organizations to take actions towards reducing violence in Columbia.
The dialogue will be an open forum for discussion of the Community Violence Task Force recommendations and the progress of facilitating those recommendations. The dialogue will be held on Monday, Jan. 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 701 E. Broadway.
The Mayor's Task Force on Community Violence was created on Aug. 5, 2013. Since then, the task force examined research and data, learned from local organizations and experts and listened to the public to create the recommendations. The recommendations were submitted to Council on Nov. 17, 2014. The Council requested an update and received the status at the Oct. 19, 2015 meeting.
The community dialogue was initiated by Council members Ian Thomas, Mike Trapp and Laura Nauser. Trapp and Nauser were on the Community Violence Task Force.
